Conditions and Qualifications of a Mujtahid: A Comparative Study of Major Sunni Usul al-Fiqh Scholars
ائمہ اصولین کے نزدیک مجتہد کی شرائط و اوصاف: ایک موازنہ و تجزیہ
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67101/alamir.v7i02.355Keywords:
Ijtihād, Mujtahid, Uṣūl al-Fiqh, Islamic Jurisprudence, Sharīʿah, Legal Reasoning, Conditions of Ijtihād, Maqāṣid al-SharīʿahAbstract
This research examines the essential conditions and qualifications of a Mujtahid according to leading scholars of Usūl al-Fiqh, tracing the developmental trajectory of these requirements across different historical phases of Islamic legal theory. As a dynamic mechanism for deriving legal rulings from primary and secondary sources—such as the Qur’ān, Sunnah, Ijmāʿ (consensus), and Qiyās (analogy)—Ijtihād holds a foundational position in Islamic jurisprudence. This study analyzes the foundational views of prominent Sunni legal theorists, including Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām al-Juwaynī, Imām al-Ghazālī, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Imām al-Āmidī, Imām al-Zarkashī, Imām al-Shāṭibī, and Imām al-Shawkānī.
It investigates their frameworks regarding the Mujtahid’s requisite mastery of the Qur’ānic text, Hadith literature, Arabic linguistics, principles of legal interpretation, legal abrogation (Naskh), consensus, analogical reasoning, and conflict resolution among competing evidences (Taʿāruḍ wa al-Tarjīḥ). Furthermore, the paper highlights how later legal scholars emphasized higher intellectual competence, contextual reasoning, and a deep comprehension of the Higher Objectives of Islamic Law (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah). The study concludes that despite nuanced variances in classification, major Uṣūlī scholars unanimously agree that Ijtihād demands both exhaustive textual knowledge and a rigorous, disciplined methodological capacity for legal deduction.
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